AIBIU to expect that child 8 should know her times tables? Aaaaaagh

[earlgreyplease]

AIBIU to expect that my child age 8, who is at a fee paying school (or at any school for that matter) should know her timetables by now?
We are given a different table every week to do at home, but on top of the homework and reading every night, inevitably it feels like the last straw, and gets left till the last moment. I am getting crosser and crosser that the school have not managed to do this during school hours. Please advise

I didn't know my tables until I taught maths (so I had to learn them). This was after I got Maths and further Maths at A-level and a degree in Mathematics.
The understanding of number is far more important than rote learning. Although it does make life easier to know them.

Loads of students never learn them and have to work them out each time. Saves masses of time if students so know them but I know one dyslexic student who did a level maths without ever having them off by heart.

Sorry princess cross post.

Some things which need learning by heart are ideal to do at home. Committing something repetitive and tedious to memory is not necessarily a good use of class time, especially if some or many of the other children in the class have already learnt theirs. I am an MFL teacher and we wouldn't get through much of the grammar / oral practice / listening / reading / writing parts of the curriculum if absolutely all the vocabulary learning had to happen in class without any reinforcement at home.

I have a degree in mathematics and I don't know my tables. I also went to a fee paying school.

It's just not how I learn. I don't remember things by rote. I totally don't see the point of being about to chant facts.

I never learned my tables by rote. It made no sense to me. I have two degrees and several other qualifications. Peoples minds work in so many different ways. i really don't think rote learning promotes understanding at all. Leave your DD OP. She will make sense of this in her own way and time.

These days whilst they talk about a child knowing their tables - it is different to being able to stand there and recite by rote. My DD in her non-fee paying school (really what diff does it make) is working on 2 second recall so she knows her tables but is not fast - but is getting better, we practice not every day but two or three times a week, randomly asking her sums from the timestables - so not reciting but knowing the answers or being able to work it out quick - 2 seconds. I try and do it at random times when the time is otherwise wasted - supermarket, waiting in Dr Surgery, in car etc

Why is it useful - mental maths generally, long division, BODMAS in your head, working stuff out - she is not at 2 seconds across the board yet BUT she is faster than me and hubby working things out - so we are working on it too at the same time - lol

KatyN I feel the same as you, to me it's like chanting - chanting a really boring and factual poem...

I guess it's handy to be able to quickly recall but for me I have to work multiplications out properly each time. And I was always a high performer in Maths and every other subject for that matter.

I won't be worried if my DS doesn't know his times tables at 8, or even at 16. If he is performing well in other areas I'll be happy.

DC's school does them in class and then sets them as homework too. On top of reading etc.

It's a state school. Not sure what difference that makes? I wouldn't pay for education with the expectation that I didn't have to support that learning out of school.

Some great suggestions here though - might need to get a CD for the car too!

As a year 2 teacher I would put a cd on whilst getting changed for pe, have the children allowed to leave for lunch once they have answered a times table question, etc.

It's something which should be thrown in little and often every day.

As far as school is concerned it's useful to know them for mental arithmetic - we do lots of mental maths tests where the focus is on speed and mental calculation. You can't be bothering with "lots of" when you've got 5 seconds to find an answer.

I have an 8yo (who incidentally thinks she is bad at maths) who is top of her group in their times table tests - she was tested on her 13s yesterday. However she doesn't know them by rote at all, what she can do is deploy quickly several techniques that we have practiced at home to get to the right answer. She can use doubling, halving, squares, partitioning (she knew her 13s by adding 10s and 3s) etc. I think the rapid deployment of these techniques will stand her in far greater stead than learning by rote.

She still can't tell the time though

I never learned the times tables. I know some but not all.

Tables for homework is v v bog standard and my class of very bright 9 year olds knew up to x7 but that was with us doing a 'singing your tables' tape once a day for 5mins on top of homework. They loved the singing and it made it sink in faster IMO and also according to the parents. Google 'songs to sing tables too'?

I learnt the timetables at age 7 and have rapid recall but I'm rubbish at maths and panic if I have to do mental arithmetic in front of somebody. My son is really slow at recalling the times tables but is really good at maths.

Many thanks for all your (mostly!) very helpful and sympathetic comments, we will continue chanting, singing in the car, and doing the games on the computer, and I will chill a bit and trust that they will learn them eventually!

So would you rather the school taught by rote and never deviated into creative thinking
Or..
They taught a range of topics in subjects using a variety of resources and strategies, and you just had to practice with your children when they got home?